


Bonding for Beginners

by Veslya



Category: Persona 5
Genre: Enemies to ???, First Kiss, Idiots in Love, M/M, at least one idiot in love
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-09
Updated: 2020-05-09
Packaged: 2021-03-03 03:54:55
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,198
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24088453
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Veslya/pseuds/Veslya
Summary: Goro wishes Kurusu would stop doing stupid things, like inviting him to go to Mementos without the rest of the team.Though... it might not be as bad as expected.
Relationships: Akechi Goro/Kurusu Akira, Akechi Goro/Persona 5 Protagonist
Comments: 1
Kudos: 146





	Bonding for Beginners

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Kentario](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kentario/gifts).



> Happy Birthday, Ken! Here's your gift!
> 
> To everyone else: I hope you enjoy it as well.

Goro took two steps into Mementos, inhaled deeply, and coughed as the strange energy in the air irritated his lungs. He had known going in that flu season had a certain effect on the metaverse, had experienced it several times before, yet he kept forgetting the sensation, allowing it to surprise him every year. He wondered if Kurusu had known.

Speaking of... Goro turned around to face his companion, his princely disguise settling around him like the ill-fitting costume it was, and raised his eyebrows. "Would you kindly tell me why you wanted to come here without the other members of the... team?"

Grinning from behind his mask like the joker he seemed to think he was, Kurusu shrugged. "I thought we'd bond a bit."

...bond? Goro thought, disgust clawing at his throat. He wondered if Kurusu would also count it as bonding when he was inevitably shot by him.

Knowing him, maybe he would.

Careful to let none of this thought show either in his expression or his voice, he instead raised his eyebrows. "Bond? Isn't that usually a team activity, though?"

Beneath the mask, Kurusu's – no, Joker's – grin was feral. "Why, Crow – are you scared to be alone with me?"

That little...! Goro had already pushed past the ticket inspection machines before he realized what he was doing, mentally cursing himself. How did Kurusu always manage to get under his skin like this?

"Scared?" he asked, doing his best to distract from his sudden action. No need for Kurusu to think he needed to prove himself or anything like that. "Not at all. Though... aren't you worried? I _am_ currently blackmailing you."

In response, Kurusu laughed, and Goro had to keep his hands from tightening into fists, preferably in that infuriating boy's face. Maybe that would finally shut him up.

Goro pointedly shoved the image of him shutting Kurusu up with his own lips into the furthest corner of his mind. The sooner this excursion was over, the better. He didn't need this kind of distraction when he was so, so close to finally getting his revenge.

Even though Kurusu was probably considered good-looking by some, from a certain point of view. One with a good angle, with that constant smug expression wiped off his face.

"No, not really. I know you – you wouldn't do anything to me, down here in Mementos."

That fool! Wouldn't do anything _here_... if only Kurusu knew how terribly right he was.

They explored Mementos, they fought shadows, and against all of his expectations, Goro did get the feeling they were starting to bond, for lack of a better word. There was no other logical explanation for the strange feeling in his stomach whenever Kurusu passed the baton to him, the elation when they finished off an enemy with perfectly timed blows, or the ease with which Goro accepted Kurusu's arm around his shoulders when they took a short rest, sitting down on uncomfortable chairs on an empty platform.

"I could keep going," he muttered, purposefully not looking in Kurusu's direction. There would be no end to the teasing if the eternal joker saw the flush on his face, caused entirely by exertion and nothing else. Was that imbecile playing with his _hair?_

Maybe Goro could act like he hadn't noticed. It was not a bad feeling, and getting rid of that arm seemed like too much of a bother for now. He'd just let Kurusu think they were friends... which was the point anyway, wasn't it?

Kurusu chuckled. "Of course you could."

Gritting his teeth, Goro did his best to pretend it didn't sound patronizing. "If this is the limit of what your teammates can do, I'm surprised you managed to get anything at all done in those... palaces, was it?"

" _Our_ teammates," Kurusu corrected, his breath tickling Goro's ear. Had he... come closer? You couldn't take your eyes off him, really. "You're officially one of the Phantom Thieves. Did you forget, _detective?"_

Goro shuddered at the sudden deepening of his voice, then immediately cursed himself. There was no way Kurusu hadn't noticed that. He needed to do something to shut the other up before he could embarrass himself completely – but what?

"Of course not." Keeping his voice smooth was an exercise in self control, but one Goro had mastered a long time ago. He finally turned back around to face Kurusu, who was far too much of a menace to have survived for this long, and cocked his head. "Did you forget the Phantom Thieves will cease to exist soon?"

Kurusu chuckled, a dangerous sound. Goro didn't like it. It was too addictive. "Oh, but we will live on in spirit – in people's hearts. Don't you agree?"

No. Goro didn't feel like agreeing with Kurusu on anything. Still, what choice did he have? "You certainly have made an impression on them." Not on Goro, though. Here, they'd be forgotten gleefully, especially their leader.

"And what about you, Mr. Detective Prince?" Kurusu practically purred, the fingers that had played with Goro's hair now touching his mask, carefully lifting it away as if they weren't removing Goro's last line of protection against whatever it was that Kurusu was doing. "Will you miss me when you're not chasing me anymore? Will you be sad? Maybe you'll even–"

Goro pushed forwards, finally doing what he'd imagined for so long – surprising Kurusu for once, making him stop spewing those infuriating words, removing that smug grin he hated so much he dreamed about it at night. Kurusu moved as well, head angled sideways, once again anticipating Goro's actions with almost eerie accuracy. They met in a harsh kiss, teeth scraping over lips, a tongue following in their wake as fingers tangled in Goro's hair and–

Luckily there were only shadows around, Goro's last bits of coherency manged to think, because surely you could be arrested for moaning that loudly? Then Akira pulled his hair again and even that last thought floated away into sensation.

And just as suddenly as it had started, it ended, with Kurusu slipping from Goro's suddenly clumsy fingers, stepping fully into the mask of untouchable, detestable Joker. "Race you back to the top?"

Goro simply blinked at him, still too overwhelmed by whatever it was that had just happened. Had they... what...

Joker's grin grew. "Loser pays for sushi, what about it?" he asked, not even waiting for a response before taking off, leaving Goro to sort through his clouded mind to piece together as much dignity and control as was possible while slumping down bonelessly on rickety chairs on a cognitive train station. It wasn't much, and it left him with one horrifying realization.

He was indeed going to miss Kurusu. He was going to miss him terribly, despite all of his bad jokes, his annoying habits, the expressions that made Goro want to slam a head against the nearest wall, be it his own or the other boy's. Every single thing he hated about Kurusu he remembered vividly, and he didn't want to lose any of it.

Deep inside Mementos, surrounded by shuffling shadows, abandoned subway rails, and an eternal, unnatural silence, Goro began to forge a new plan.


End file.
